Audible signal and fuel control



A ril 20, 1926. 581,739

A. R. HOLLER I Filed Feb. 20. 1923 I'll z O n 56 O g vent? tol'ngs.

Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

- UNITED: STATES ALBERT It. Hours, or nine, rsnnsvtvaivia.

AUDIIBLE SIGN'AL AND FUEL ONTROL;

Application filed February 20, 1923. Serial No. 620,311.

To all whom it may concern:

Be ltknown that I, ALBERT R. I-IoLLun,

a citizen of the United States, residing at I Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Audible Sig nals and Fuel Controls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signaling devices and more particularly to a device of this character which is especially adapted for use in connection with the fuel supply for automobiles, launches, and other vehicles of this character. I

The main object of the. invention is the provision of a signal. which will be autothe vehicle that the fuel in the supply tank only enough fuel remains as a reserve sup ply for operating the vehicle a certain length of time or mileage distance before the fuel supply must be replenished.

Another object of this invention. is the provision of a signal of the above character including means whereby the entire supply of fuel from the supply tank to the engine is cut off and locked, when not in use by the owner to. prevent the appropriation or use of the vehicle by unauthorized persons- A further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the reserve supply of' fuel may be. quickly and readilyconnected with the supply pipe leading to the engine after the signal has signified the exhaustion of the main supply, without the necessity'of stopping the motor or' of the operator leaving his seat. 7 i 1 A still further object of this invention is theprovision of a signaling device, wherein the means for controllingvthe fuel supply from themain supply and the reserve supply is located in close proximity to the operatorand readily accessible at all times.

, With the aboveand other objects in view,

the invention consists in the novel features 7 of construction, the combination and arrangement of parts as pointed out in the appended claims and shown in the accompanying drawings, v 4

Figure 1 is'a'diagrammaticview of a fuel supplying system used in connection with my improved signal. I Figure 2 is a top plan view of-the means for controlling the signal.

has reached a predetermined level and that Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. Referring now more in detail to the drawings 1nwhlch various reference characters indicate the several parts throughout, it "will be noted that there is included in the construction of applicants device, as well as the operation, the main supply tank A generally of the type used on motor vehicles having suitable connection with the vacuum tank B arranged between the main supply tank A and the motor or engine, and arranged between the supplytank A'and the vacuum tank B-is my improved signaling device G. matically sounded to warn the operator of a short distance from the bottom as indi cated inthe diagrammatic view in Figure tends to the bottom wall of the tank A whereby the entire supply of fuel may be withdrawn from the tank. The additional pipe line 3 leads to the signaling device 6,

passes therethrough,' and then, through the pipe or tube which is connected with the tank B, whereby itwil'l be notedthat the entire supply of fuel contained within-the tank may be readily withdrawn there from.

My improved signaling device C r comprises a valve casing 4 having the two inlet ports 5, 6, .and the outlet port.

In orderto provide for a suitable connec tion between the pipe lines 1 and 3 and the inlet ports 5 and 6, the L-sliapedmembers 8 are provided,said .L-shaped members having their inn'er'ends extended into the ports 5 and 6 and the outer end suitably'connected with thepip lines 1] and 3 by means of th union nut 9, v l A Arranged 'withln the valvecasing 4 is a'rotary valve lOh-aving an arcuate recess 11 formed therein, whereby upon rotative movement of the valve communication between a selected port opening-5 or 6 and the port opening may be readily established,

as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4 or communication between the ports 5 and 6 and the port 7 may be entirely cut oil as illustrated in full lines in Figure 1." The port 7 continues out through a neck portion 11 formed upon the exterior of the valve -casing and opens into the interior of the signal member 12. This signal member 12 comprises the opposed arcuate ortionsf12' which have their edges a-rrangec in abutting relation and secured in any suitable manner.

Outlet from the member 12 is established through the passageway 13 which is formed in the upright portion of the supporting arm 14, the supporting arm being provided with a nipple 15 through which the-passage'13 extends and is connected with the pipe line 2 by means of the union nut 9', whereby it washer 19 which is held in place upon the stem 17 by means of a suitable cotter pin 20. The valve member 10 is provided with an outwardly extending stop lug 21 which is adapted to engage the spaced shoulders 22 formed on thevalve casing, whereby the limit of movement of the valve can be confined to the space between the shoulders 22,

' communication will be established between one of the ports 5 or 6 and the port 7, and when moved in the opposite direction against the opposing shoulder, a similar communication between the other ports 5 or 6 and the port 7 .maybe established. Upon movement ofithe valve 10 so that the stop lug 21 is disposed midway between the shoulders 22, the communication between the ports 5 and 6 and the port 7 is entirely out 01f, the valvemember being in the position illustrated'in Figure 4. y I i The signaling device 13 is preferablysupported upon a base plate 23 and attention is directed to the fact that this signaling de- 7 vice, particularly the controlling valves and the signal member itself, comprises two sep arate sections, connection of which is made by the soldering of the two. parts of the member 12. The valvemember and the signal member are connected to the base member 23' through the medium" of the supporting arms'14 and 24, the-outer ends of which are provided wlth winged portions 25,extending at right-angles to the arms 14 and 24 and boltedor otherwise secured to the base plate -as1nd1cated at26.: i

In order to actuate my improvedvalve 'tively establish communication between the several ports of the valve casing. The base plate 23 winch supportsthe signaling, device is connected with the dash board, which in the present instance is indicated by the I numeral 31, by means of suitable securing bolts 32, and mounted upon the base plate .23is the casing 33 which provides a housing for the signal device G. The casing 33 includes a substantially rectangular .body portion of suitable type to entirely-enclose the signal device and is provided on opposite ends thereof with perforated ears 3 1 which are mounted upon the sccurmg bolt'32 and retained in position by means of the detachable nut 35.

From the above, it will be readily apparent that when the supply tank A has a capacity supply of fuel therein or a sufficient amount of fuel whereby the inner end of the pipe line 1 will be immersed within the fuel and the valve member 10 arranged in position to connect the ports 5 and 7 direct communication will be established between the main supply tank A and the vacuum tank B through the pipe line 2, whereby therequired amount of fuel will be supplied to the vacuum tank. Attention is called to the fact that in the passage of the fuel from the main supply tank A to the vacuum tank B, it includes in: its path of travelthe signalmemthe pipe line 2. Should the supply offuel within the tank A drop below the level of I the inner end of the pipe 3, it will be noted thatalr will be sucked through the signal member 12 producing a whistling sound, the volume of sound depending onhthe propon portions of the signal member, and the size of the passageway through the same, particuv larly the openings from theports 7 and the p ssag ys 3- a t u 'Itwill be apparent from the above that through the audible sounding of the signal, 1

the operator of the vehicle willfbe warned thatwhis fuel supply has been'reduced-to a limited amount, and that only a predetermined amount 1 of'fuel remains, whereby a predetermined distance maybe travelled before the supply must be replenished, When the operator has been notified by the audible sounding of the signal, that his main supply of fuel has become exhausted, he may readily establish communication between the pipe line 2 and the reserve pipe line by rotating the valve member 10 so as to bring the port openings 6 and 7 into communicating relation so that the reserve supply of fuel wlthin the tank may then be utilized. The operator may readily actuate the valve 10 by inserting the key 36 into the cylinder 28 ot' the lock, said. key being provided with sultable indentations to actuate the tumblers of the lock to permit rotation of the cylinder, whereby the valve member may be rotated to the desired position. When the valve member 10 is arranged in the position illustrated in Figure 4, the communication between the Supply tank A and the vacuum tank B is entirely shut off so that none of the fuel within the tank A may be drawn up wardly into the tank B for use in operating the motor and in order to establish communication between the tank A and tank B it will be necessary for the owner or operator of the vehicle to insert the key 36 into the rotatable cylinder 28 so that the cylinder 28 may be readily rotated to impart movement to the valve and provide for connection between the ports 5 and 6 and the port 7. From the above it will be apparent that when the vehicle is not being used either by the owner or operator of the same, the valve member 10 may be rotated to the position shown in Figure 4, to cut off the supply of fuel to the engine and prevent the vehicle from being stolen or used by an unauthorized person.

The improved signal device D together with the means for controlling the same is attached to the dash board of the vehicle upon the outer face thereof and preferably arranged in such a position as to be disposed beneath the hood covering the motor and upon the side of the vehicle usually occupied by the operator, so that the device may be readily accessible by the operator at all times.

WVhile I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it'will be apparent that the various changes and alterations may be carried out without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1.. In a structure of the character described, a three wayvalve comprising a cylindrical casing having inlet ports formed in its periphery in spaced relation to each other circumferentially of the casing and an outlet port in its lower portion between the inlet ports, a valve block rotatably mounted in said casing and having a peripheral pocket for selectively connecting the outlet port with either of the inlet ports when the valve block is rotated, a tube leading from the outlet port, a convex disc carried by said tube, a mounting member, an arm extending from the upper portion of said valve casing and connected with said mounting member, a bracket element connected with the mounting member and having a tubular outer end portion adapted for 7 connection with an outlet pipe, an upstanding tubular arm carried by said bracket element in spaced relation to its free end and communicating with the tubular outer end portion of the bracket member, and a disc carried by said upstanding arm and having its peripheral portion joined to the peripheral portion of the other disc, said discshaving concave confronting faces.

2. In a structure of the character described, a three way valve comprising a cylindrical casing having inlet ports formed in its periphery in spaced apart relation to each other circumferentially of the casing and an outlet port in its lower portion between the inlet po-rts, a valve block rotatably mounted in said casing and having a peripheral pocket for selectively connecting the outlet port with either of the inlet ports when the valve block is rotated, a tube lead-.

ing from the outlet port, a disc carried by said tube, a second disc having its peripheral portion joined to the peripheral portion of said first mentioned disc, said discs having concave confronting faces, and an outlet tube extending from the second mentioned disc. 1

ALBERT R. HOLLER. 

